The Children Of The Warehouse
by CLMScagliotti
Summary: My version of the story about Joshua, Claire and Claudia Donovan. It starts in 1999. What if they hadn't left Joshua and Claudia on their own to begin with? What if they had been looking for someone to take care of the siblings themselves? From the day Claire bought the music box, it's a little AU.
1. The Day It All Began

**A/N: KNOCK KNOCK.**

**Here I am again. Since I've got a story set in the present and another one in the future, I thought why not add one set in the past? I had an idea about what could have happened; what could have been done differently. I always loved the dynamic between the Donovan siblings, and we definitely didn't get enough of them on the show. **

**KTF CLM**

03.09.1999, 07:30 am, the Badlands of South Dakota

Arthur Nielsen doubtfully studied the case file in front of him. Just a couple of weeks ago, he'd become the Warehouse's new Special Agent in Charge. Currently, he was the only officially active agent of this place. Mrs. Frederic had told him that she was waiting for the right people to recruit for him, although Artie highly doubted that she'd find anyone he could work with. Since his former partner had betrayed them, he rarely trusted anybody. How should he work with a bunch of strangers? No, Artie definitely didn't have the time or nerves to give some annoying kids the grand tour around his house. He couldn't work with people he didn't trust, and he didn't trust people he didn't know.

And he wasn't exactly interested in getting to know someone. Except maybe...

Last week they hired a former agent as the new doctor for Warehouse personnel. Her name was Dr. Vanessa Calder. The blonde woman was barely younger than himself, obviously very intelligent and had a healthy sense for humor as well as adventure. Vanessa had started working for the Warehouse in her twenties already, which made it easier for Artie to trust her than he was sure was good for him. The grumpy agent also quickly found himself admitting that she was quite pretty. He'd even call her beautiful, if he could gather enough courage to actually say that out loud.

The agent shook his head at the thought. It had been a long time since he had shown this kind of interest in a woman. And back then, it had ended badly.

Suddenly, memories were flooding his mind. He had indeed loved Carol Augustine. And so had his former partner, James MacPherson. James had been more than a co-worker to him. They used to be friends, as close as brothers.

When James had started to tell him about all the things that they could change in this world, if they'd just break a few rules, Artie was almost amused. He'd thought it was a joke. And when he realized that his friend was being serious, he'd assumed it was never going to be more than a little game. MacPherson did like to play around from time to time. But later, he actually _considered_ the idea. He started, like James, to see the positive effects this endless wonder could cause in the world. They could bring rain to the deserts, food to the poor, homes to the homeless. They could end a war, like the one Artie's own family suffered through. However, James had started to forget about the downsides. By saving a single person, he could wipe out a whole nation. With ending one civil war, he could cause a world war. He always claimed he could control it, but Artie knew that he couldn't. Nobody could, and no one was ever meant to.

That's what he had told his partner. It was _insane_. He had to stop this mess, before it got out of control. But by that point, it was already too late.

Too deep in his thoughts, Artie hadn't even noticed the woman who'd appeared behind him out of nowhere.

"I believe you should focus on your current task, Arthur."

The man jumped slightly in his seat and turned his head, to see his boss standing behind the chair he was sitting on. "Mrs. Frederic, I..."

It was far from the first time she'd stepped up behind or beside him, without ever giving him a hint where she came from or how she moved around. She did that every time he met her, and other agents had the same problem before himself. They never knew when she'd arrive where, because none of them could explain her way of transportation. Artie was willing to bet there was an artifact involved, but he couldn't really figure out which one.

The agent snapped himself out of his thoughts, clearing his throat in an attempt to regain his concentration and act professional.

"Of course. I got an alert. Possible artifact activity in Kenswick, Minnesota. It said that a young woman was having strange outbursts, likely triggered by strong emotions. People say she..." He paused to let his eyes scan the file again and quoted: "She threw objects around without even touching anything. Some witnesses described her as a 'human tornado'."

The woman nodded slowly, a thoughtful look on her usually rather stoic face. "We should pay her a visit as soon as possible. I don't know which artifact is causing this, but I've got a bad feeling about it."

Now the Caretaker got him worried. She'd been with the Warehouse a lot longer than anyone even knew. If such an experienced expert voiced her concerns like this, there was most definitely a good reason to worry. Something about this case was different. He just didn't know what it was. Not yet, anyway.

05.09.1999, 03:15 pm, Kenswick (Minnesota)

Artie parked his dear El Camino in front of the suspect's, or victim's, house. With wide eyes, he recognized the scene unfolding in the garden. There was a yard sale set up. A few people were searching through the objects, utterly unaware that they might be in great danger.

The man glanced towards his temporary partner, but that sight worried him even more. Mrs. Frederic's eyes were glued to one specific point of the yard. She looked as if she had seen a ghost there.

However, all Artie could find when he followed her gaze were two young girls. A redhead in her mid-teens and an even younger brunette, likely her younger sister. It seemed like they were arguing about something. Or at least the little one was. She kept shooting the object in her sister's hands wary looks, sometimes downright glaring. It was almost as if the girl was afraid something would jump out of the delicate box and attack them.

But the thing the sisters seemed so interested in wasn't even like a Jack-in-the-box. No. It appeared to be a music box. A very _old_ music box.

Arthur opened his mouth to say something, but when his eyes landed back on the woman beside him, it seemed like she was trapped in a trance. Her reactions throughout this case were getting more unsettling with every new development, and it was making him nervous. Hesitantly, he cleared his throat to catch her attention.

"Mrs. Frederic? Are... are you alright?"

It took another moment, but eventually she looked at him and nodded firmly.

"Do you think it's the box?" he asked quietly, earning another nod from the Caretaker.

"Yes, I'm fairly certain. But that is not what concerns me the most about this scene. The girl, the younger one. It's like... it feels like I should recognize her. As if she was important."

Nielsen studied the image in front of him. It was rare that his boss said so many words at once. And it was even rarer that she showed fear, but she did sound rather scared now. However, she definitely wasn't scared of the kid. It was more like she was scared _for _her.

Turning back around, he spotted the girls leaving the sale. The box was clutched tightly to the older one's chest. As soon as the sisters reached the nearest corner, he started the engine of his car again.

He drove up to the corner to see where they were heading. The teenager didn't even seem to notice them, but the brunette suddenly stopped and turned around. Her curious brown eyes began to search their surroundings, when the redhead realized that the other girl was no longer following her. She was visibly annoyed, probably still because of their previous discussion.

Arthur listened to his co-worker for the day, who was reading the sisters' lips out loud now.

"What is it, Dia? We don't have time for your paranoid little ghosts right now. We have to be at home in time for dinner."

"I'm not seeing ghosts, Claire. I'm serious! I don't have imaginary friends anymore, I'm seven years old."

Neither of the agents could help the small smiles that appeared on their faces, as the girls took a habitual turn into the driveway of a homey house. Artie could see how Mrs. Frederic pulled out a leather-bound notebook and wrote the address down.

Suddenly, the woman got out of the car. Nielsen followed her example, but when he found himself outside, she had already disappeared into thin air. He shook his head and climbed back into the driver's seat of the El Camino.

One day he would figure out how she did this all the time.


	2. A Backstory And A Crazy Little Sister

**A/N: KNOCK KNOCK**

** And here comes the second chapter. At the moment this story is way easier to write than my are two possible crossover characters mentioned. I wanted to give myself a little for room for ideas. Let me know if you find them. **

**Without too many more comments from me, I hope you like it. Feedback is always helpful. **

**KTF CLM **

02.09.1999, Minnesota. 1:30 pm.

It couldn't have been longer than five minutes till Mrs. Frederic appeared beside Agent Nielsen again. She took a deep breath in, letting Arthur know that she had a lot to tell him.

"Apparently this is the house of the Donovans. The father, Johnathan Donovan, once was a soldier. After the birth of his first child he settled down here. Today he's a physicist. I couldn't get much information about his work. It seems he's working on some kind of secret project. I suppose he's still working for the military."

"He's got a brother, Zachary. Zachary Donovan seems to be the black sheep of the family. Nothing interesting other than that they're not in contact anymore. His brother is married and he has a son, Zane Donovan. Smart boy. 17 years old."

"Johnathan's wife is Catherine Donovan, born Jones. She seems to be an independent woman. One of the rare female lawyers these days. She's got a brother and two sisters. Well, she had. Her youngest sister Bethany died from cancer at young age. Her older sister Rachel is a dance teacher in New York City. Her only brother Michael is married and has four kids. Two boys, David and Jacob. And two girls, Janelle and Felicia.".

"Catherine and Johnathan have three children. The oldest is Joshua Donovan. He's 18 and just started college. He's studying physics, like his father. A very bright boy. The two we just watched here were Claire and Claudia Donovan. Claire is 15. She's a good student. Never any complications. Not with grades, not with teachers or other students. She's taking dancing lessons twice a week and guitar and piano lessons once a week. Nothing out of the ordinary"

"Claudia Donovan is 7 years old, like she already reminded her sister. It seems she's at least as smart as her brother is. She skipped the second grade. So she's already in the fourth grade. The youngest, and still the smarted of the class. Just like her sister she's taking dancing, piano and guitar lessons. Dancing every second Friday, piano every Thursday, and guitar every Tuesday. They're a pretty busy family. I couldn't find anything about the music box tough. I'm not even sure if it's the artifact. I felt an energy from it, but it's interfering with... "

Nielsen tried to take in everything he just found out when he noticed that she stopped mid sentence. The girl seemingly always carried her thoughts away. At least he was pretty sure it was her fault. No, not her fault. But what was so different about the little brunette that it bothered the woman so much?

05.09.1999, Minnesota, The Donovan Household. 6:45 pm.

Claire Donovan sat on her bed and inspected what had become her favorite object on earth within seconds. The beautiful wooden box with the letters FF at the front. She couldn't spend hours just looking at the ballerina on the inside. Claire couldn't get her out of her head anymore.

The teen quickly noticed that the box was special. She didn't know why, but she just couldn't leave it alone. She had to buy it. She had to take it with her wherever she went. Every night before she went to sleep she just had to listen to the sweet melodies that the innocent looking box offered when it was opened.

It nearly hurt her every time she closed it or she was too far away from it. It was a part of her now. It was as if it helped her to live. It made breathing easier. It made worries and fears go away. Well, hers anyway.

Her little sister kept telling her that she didn't like the box. That Claire was obsessed with it. With this beautiful piece of art that was playing the most amazing tune that she'd ever heard. Of course she loved it how couldn't she?

It was the best thing that ever...

"Claire? Clary it's me. Can I come in? You locked the door."

The redhead shot the door an annoyed glare, angry that she was distracted from her thoughts.

"I know what I did, Dia.". She sighed and stood up to open the door. "Wait. I'm coming.". She cautiously placed the box on her desk.

When Claudia walked into the room she immediately spotted the strange object. It made her nervous. Ever since Claire bought it, she felt watched around it. She wouldn't even be all that surprised if it would explode any minute. It was like it sent her signals. A shiver ran down the girl's spine.

When the older sister saw what Claudia was looking at, and the way she looked at it, she took a step forward, placing herself between her sister and her beloved music box.

"What is it, Claudia? I'm busy.".

The brunette looked directly into her eyes now. Claire had changed so much since three days ago. Since she had this scary box.

Just last week Claire would have welcomed her with open arms. She would teach her how to play the guitar, because Claudia liked her way more than her teacher. And she would tell her the most amazing stories. Claudia knew that half of it was just imagination, but it didn't matter to her. Right now she just wanted her big sister back.

"Really Clary, what's the deal with that scary thing? I don't get it. I've got a bad feeling from this one."

"Oh, let me guess you're one of those freaks with the glass balls now?"

"They're called fortune tellers and they're using crystal balls. And no, I'm not. These are ridiculous! I don't need some special gift to tell you that this box has a negative effect on you! Mom and Dad don't like it either."

"You're lying! You always are! You're just a kid! You have no idea what you're talking about!"

These words tore Claudia's heart apart. Claire had always been the only one who really understood her. She knew that Claudia wasn't just some random child. That she was wise beyond her years. Claire had said so herself.

Suddenly she saw something flying across the room. She looked to the ground beside her. There lay a bracelet, now with all of the pearls sprawled across the floor. It had missed the girl by less than three inches.

She remembered this bracelet. It had belonged to their grandmother. Catherine had given it to Claire last Christmas.

Claudia turned to her sister. The redhead had stopped mid-air while driving her hands through her hair. Her eyes were widened in shock.

Claudia made a fast decision and ran out of the room. When Claire noticed what she was doing the brunette was already down the stairs.

"Mom! The box is bad! It makes Claire mad!", she screamed once she reached the living room.

"That's not true! I don't know what her problem is lately!"

Cat glanced from one of her daughters to the others. She was used to arguments like that between Claire and Joshua, but did Claudia really have to fill in for her brother now?

"Alright, what happened?", she asked patiently.

"Claire was angry and then grandma's pearl bracelet flew across the room! It was just lying on the desk beside the stupid box! We didn't even touch it!"

The blonde raised an eyebrow. "Claudia, darling, I love you're blooming imagination but it's not a good time for this hon'. Claire?". She turned to look at the redhead.

"I'm so sorry Mom. I practiced for dancing class and I forgot to put it off before."

Claudia stepped between her sister and her mother.

"No, Mom she's lying! I'm not imagining this! I know what I saw! I'm not just a naive kid! Mom, please, you gotta believe me! I... I know that there's no Santa! That was Dad! I found that out when I was four! And I know that you're the one whose exchanging the teeth under my pillow for money! And Claire and Josh are hiding the Easter eggs every year! I know all of that! Please, I'd rather you stop playing Santa and Tooth Fairy and Easter Bunny! You can stop all of that if you want to! Just believe me now!"

Claire nervously glanced back and forth between them. She tried to see if her mother actually believed Claudia. She didn't want her sister to look crazy. But she couldn't risk that they'd take away the music box.

Cat looked the girl directly in the brown eyes. She never knew that her youngest had already figured out all of that. Probably she didn't want to risk her Easter egg hunts or Christmas presents. But know she put all of that on the line just to get rid of a wooden box?

The blonde cautiously reached forward to put a hand on Claudia's forehead.

Now Claudia was mad. She had told her all of that and she still didn't believe her?

The brunette pushed her mother's hand away and ran upstairs to her room. She threw the door closed and locked it.

Claire silently let out a relieved breath. When her mother sent her a questioning glance she just shrugged. Then she turned away to go back upstairs. Back to her beloved box.


	3. Out Of Control

**A/N: KNOCK, KNOCK. I'm pretty inspired at the moment. I love writing this story, and I hope that you like reading it. Feedback is always welcome. KTF CLM **

08.09.1999, Minnesota. The Donovan Household.

Joshua Donovan had just wanted to go home over the weekend. His parents were going to be at some kind of scientist meeting for three days. Usually he would have loved to accompany them there rather than to babysit his sisters. But he hadn't seen Claudia and Claire for a few months and they told him that everything was a bit tense between the sisters right now.

That was really new to him. Usually he had to deal with both of them against him. They always stood in for each other. Claudia and Claire were unstoppable together. Sometimes he even wondered if it was healthy how close they were. Claudia had turned into a miniature version of Claire. She had even said that she wanted to color her hair red.

Of course their parents had told her she could do that. In eight years. But Claudia, being her stubborn Donovan-ish self, kept asking every week.

And with her puppy dog eyes, Josh wouldn't be surprised if she was already a fiery redhead to her tenth birthday. There is no second person on earth who had pleading and begging skills like Claudia's. That's what he hated her for, and that's what he loved her for.

He got out of the car when it stopped in front of his parents' home. He had taken a taxi cab since he didn't have an own car yet. He already had a drivers license, but he wanted to keep his money till he had enough for the perfect car. And to finish his education. Cat and John had offered him to pay for it, but Joshua Donovan was a man of pride. Well, an eighteen-year old with pride. Maybe sometimes a bit too much. His mother said that John was just like that when he was younger.

He reached the door just when it swung open and his father came outside. "Joshua, thank god! We'll already be late. Cathy!", John shouted while he was all at once fixing his tie, straightening his suit and looking at the expansive watch around his wrist.

"Josh!"

The boy grinned when he saw his youngest sister bolting down the stairs. She always took at least two steps at once. He walked into her direction and caught her before she could even reach the floor.

He held her back close to his chest and turned himself in circles, making her legs fly in the air in the process.

The little brunette screamed in joy. Soon the screaming turned into laughing. That seemingly gave him an idea, because he stopped swirling her around and started tickling her instead.

He softly set her down on ground when he saw how Claire slowly made her way down the stairs. He sent the older one of his two younger sisters a reassuring smile. She seemed a bit far away today.

She hesitantly smiled back and stuffed her hands into the back pockets of her dark blue skinny jeans. She stepped in front of her brother and looked to the ground. She had a guilty expression on her face.

Joshua made a fast decision and slung his arms around his redheaded sister. At first she jumped at his sudden movement, then she put her left hand onto his left shoulder blade. Her right hand followed soon afterwards. She buried her face in her brothers chest.

Catherine came down the stairs and smiled softly at the image in front of her. She quietly walked past them, gave Claudia a quick kiss on the top of her head, and grabbed her husband's hand to pull him to the car.

John waved his youngest goodbye and followed his wife back outside. Claudia smiled. That's how it was meant to be. It was all so peaceful right now. Thanks to Joshua. He always seemed to know what to do to calm his sisters down. At least to a point where no one had to hope that he'll still be alive tomorrow.

Joshua loosened his grip on Claire and she slowly pulled away. The redhead took a deep breath in. She didn't know how much of Claudia's ideas about her music box he knew about. Or how much of it he'd believe at all. But she didn't want to give him the chance to ask.

"So, how have you been big brother? Any news from college?"

"I'm good. Nothing that would be interesting for you there. I've got a couple of complicated science classes, not that that would be a problem for me. There are already a few professors who think I'd make a good scientist one day. Other than that it's...well, it's college."

Claire nodded, but stayed silent. So Claudia decided to take over.

"That's awesome Josh! I think you'll be a great physicist! Just like Dad."

Her brother smiled brightly. "Thanks Dia. You know, from you it means even more to me than from them!"

Now Claudia grinned proudly. "Well, of course! I bet I'm smarter than most of them anyway."

"I bet. So... how're you two? Anything new?"

"No.", Claire said blankly. She really didn't want to talk about this now.

Claudia shot her sister a slightly dark look. The girl had missed her brother so much that she'd been jumping around the house all day since she found out about his visit.

She really didn't need Claire to kill the mood now. Of course she had wondered if she could talk Josh into bringing the damn box away. But he just came here. This wasn't the moment for a conversation like this.

But their brother had already noticed the cold way the sisters seemed to treat each other with. And he wasn't willing to spend a whole weekend with two girls who're watching one another as if they were plotting the fasted way to get rid of the other one.

"Alright, listen. Mom said that there was some kind of sister war between the two of you. Apparently about some kind of antiquity Claire brought home..."

"It's not just some stupid antiquity! It's a beautiful wooden music box. If you ask me, Claudia's just jealous so she's thinking of a way to take it from me!", Claire became angrier with every word that left her lips.

"You're right! It's not just an antiquity. It's changing you Claire! It's driving you mad! I'm just trying to get my sister back!", Claudia shot back, half angry, half desperate.

"I am right here! But you don't care! None of you do! The box gives me my peace! It's calming me! This object understands me better than any human being ever could!"

Claire angrily balled her fists and screamed. Claudia could swear that her sister's feet were an inch above the floor for a moment.

Suddenly things were falling to the ground like there was an earthquake. The lamp fell from the ceiling. A glass vase with tulips fell onto the carpet. Some pictures fell from the wall.

Joshua could just stand there in shock while Claudia had come to hide behind him, holding onto the back of his shirt for dear life.

He thought he could see Claire's eyes glowing for a second. Now he understood what Claudia meant.

The attack stopped as unexpected as it started. For a minute they all just stood there. The redhead looked around the room, not able to believe that she did that. She caused this chaos. And from what she could see, she scared her siblings like hell.

She turned around and ran upstairs to her room. Once she was inside she locked the door and threw herself onto her bed. The teen grabbed a pillow and pressed it to her chest. This couldn't be because of her precious treasure! It just couldn't! But she had no other explanation. Claire buried her face into the pillow and began to sob.

Meanwhile downstairs Joshua had excused himself and went to the kitchen. Claudia waited a moment before she followed him. She didn't want to be alone now and she wanted to know what he was doing.

She saw how he picked up the phone. He didn't notice her in the doorway yet so she stepped aside so she could hide behind the wall. The girl doubted he wanted her to hear anything from this call.

Her older brothers next words sent a shiver down her spine.

"Mom? Yes. It's Josh. You were right. Something is definitely out of control here. But I can assure you it's not Claudia's imagination. Mom... it's Claire."


	4. A Decision

**A/N: KNOCK KNOCK. Alright, I've been offline for awhile cause I've got a pretty full schedule here right now. But I'll keep on trying to update as often as I can. Also: I love it that people are reading, favoriting and following this. But a comment in between would be nice. Tell me what what you like about it? What I could do better?**

**This kind of takes place after the scene in Claire's school that Artie showed Claudia in Secret Services. **

**KTF CLM **

11.09.1999, Minnesota, Claire's High School.

Artie was officially exhausted and annoyed by this case. He was sorry for the girl and her family but he didn't know what to do anymore. He couldn't just walk in there and take the artifact. He had to admit, after what he'd seen today he was scared of the redhead.

The whole class room lay in chaos now. The students were anxious and the teacher was traumatized. And it seemed so was Claire.

He wasn't sure how much she remembered from what she did while she had her outburst. He didn't even know if it was her first accident of this kind. A telekinesis attack wasn't exactly a case for the local police or a doctor. Not a normal one at least. For Vanessa maybe.

Artie sighed. His thoughts kept finding the corner in his mind where he tried to hide his growing feelings for the Warehouse-Doctor. But he had other things to worry about right now.

Like the telekinetic teen tornado that was now leaving the building with her parents. Her father had an arm around her and softly stroke her shoulder.

Her mother walked in front of them. It was clear to the agents in the car that Catherine didn't want her daughter to see her expression right now.

The blonde looked stressed, exhausted, confused. She seemed to be switching moods between sad, angry and scared.

Understandable, considering what her family was going through. Other parents get called to the school because their kids said words they shouldn't have. Or because a conflict got out of control. Or because of food fights, graffiti pictures or smaller crimes like stealing a pen.

But not because their usually so peaceful, nice daughter accidentally nearly killed a dozen students and destroyed a whole class room with her thoughts simply because someone pulled the trigger on her nerves and made her angry.

At the beginning they we're worried that Claudia had too much fantasy, but after what Joshua told them they regretted that they didn't believe her. Somehow the youngest of the siblings knew what was going to happen.

Except of course that she was convinced that a wooden antiquity was the reason for all of this. Because really, that was ridiculous. Right?

Frederic and Nielsen watched the three of them as they got into the car. After they drove away the Warehouse-Employees got out of Artie's El Camino and walked towards the school building.

They decided to pay the crime scene a visit before they would go back to their research about Claire and her favourite killer weapon.

They knew that she never wanted to hurt anybody. But that's exactly what she'd do if they wouldn't stop her. Artie just hoped they would be fast enough.

"Hey, what are you two doing here?"

Arthur and Irene turned around in the middle of an aisle to see the man who had just spoken. Tall, athletic, in his later thirties, a few bright blonde hairs on his head. Probably a PE teacher or a sports coach.

"Arthur?", Mrs Frederic asked calmly. The other agent nodded.

She turned to go into the class room that was just a few steps away now. An action that the coach totally disliked.

"Hey! Wait! Who are you?"

Artie presented the stranger his best fake grin.

"You don't have to worry about us."

He pulled his Tesla gun out of his bag.

"Wait, what's that?"

Before the guy knew what was happening Artie had already pulled the trigger and the coach fell to the ground.

"Nice dreams."

When he turned around Irene already came back. Her expression rarely said anything about what the woman found or didn't find. So Nielsen decided to ask.

"Did you find anything helpful?"

"Just this.", she replied and showed him a piece of paper. The only thing that was written on it were two simple letters. FF.

11.09.1999, The Donovan Household.

Claire sat in her room. She didn't know what to do. She could barely remember what she had done. But this time someone could've died. The redhead could have killed somebody and she couldn't have done anything about it.

She thought she had this under control. But now even the few memories she had from her actions at school today scared her like nothing else ever did.

The idea that she could have killed a person gave her the chills. She felt like a monster. Why did it have to be her? Claire was afraid of how people would react if they found out about this.

She was sorry that she had shown off her little sister as crazy just so they would leave her box alone. The wooden treasure had become a part of herself. And by now even that thought creeped her out.

She decided that she should at least apologize to her parents. The teen stood up and went downstairs.

Claudia was sitting at the desk in her room, deep in her thoughts about what little her brother had told her about his tasks in college, when she heard Claire's door open and close. That was followed by the noise of someone walking down the stairs.

They brunette knew that this could be her only chance. She had been waiting for her sister to leave the box out of her sight for a moment.

The girl quietly made her ways into the redhead's room and spotted the object she had been looking for on her sister's bed. She quickly rushed forward and grabbed the box from the pillow.

Grinning she held the antiquity close to her small chest and walked back into her own room, locking the door behind her.

She considered a couple of places to hide it before she decided to simply put it under her bed. She walked over to a corner if her room and pulled a couple of crates towards the bed. Then she pushed the crates underneath the bed. Now it would take long enough for Claire to find and get this stupid piece of wood. Hopefully she'd never get so close to this thing again.

Meanwhile downstairs Claire stopped mid-way to the living room when she overheard a conversation between her parents.

"John, I don't like that idea either. But what if something like today happens again?"

"We can't just lock our daughter up somewhere! That's not a solution!"

"I know. And it's only temporary. Only till we know how to help her."

"We haven't even tried to help her yet!"

"She can't stay here! I love her as much as you do, but we can't pretend this is all perfectly normal!"

"I know it's not, Cat. But we have to think about her too."

"I am, John! That's why I'm doing this. I want this for her."

Claire's heart was beating a marathon. They wouldn't send her away, would they?

Her father sighed. "I guess you're right. But not longer than absolutely necessary!"

As his words sank in the redhead felt like she forgot how to breathe. She turned around and ran back into her room, only to find the one thing that could calm her now missing.


	5. The End And The Beginning

**A/N: KNOCK KNOCK. I finally convinced myself to post this. Sorry that it took me so long. I'm pretty stressed, but I'll try to update more often. The positive side? This is the longest chapter of this story so far. **

**Warnings for this chapter: It's based on the car crash scene in "A Faire To Remember" to the end. I'd tell you more, but I wouldn't want to give you any more spoilers. **

**There's a crossover reference for a character I already mentioned. You'll properly meet her soon. **

**Other than that? Thanks to everyone who's reading, favoriting (I don't care if that word exists or not)and/or following. Comments, questions and requests always welcome. **

**KTF CLM **

12.09.1999, The Donovan Household

Artie and Irene were, once again, sitting in a car in front of the house that was currently gifted with a fifteen-year old ticking tornado bomb.

From what they'd seen, Claire's attacks became stronger every day. But since yesterday the girl seemed nervous when they saw her leaving the house. The last time they had seen her at all was yesterday afternoon. Since then neither one of them had even seen her through a window.

But from their behavior the chances were good that by now the whole family knew about her outbursts. Oddly enough, the seven-year old little sister seemed to be the most calm of these four.

Claudia was actually the only one who'd left the house today. To check the mail. She'd even casually chatted with a neighbor. Mrs. Miller from across the street had talked about the weather and politics with the girl, as if she was a normal grown up part of their neighborhood.

But even though they'd talked about the weather, no one mentioned the tornado that was right inside the building behind them.

It was more than likely that they didn't know what was going on. Not Mrs. Miller from across the street, not Mr. and Mrs. Green from London who were living exactly to the Donovan's left, and not the New Yorker single mother Ms. Jennings to their right or her son Adrian.

When Claudia walked back into the house Ms. Jennings looked over to her and shouted her name.

"Claudia, honey. Your sister looked a bit down yesterday. Are you all alright?"

"It's fine, Ms. Jennings. Clary and Dad just caught a cold and Mom and I are staying at home to take care of them. I hope you and Adri are alright?"

"Oh, we're fine. It's really sweet from you to take care of the family. I can only repeat myself. You're already like a little adult.", the blonde woman answered with a grin on her face. "And thanks again for helping Adrian with his math homework. I don't understand a single word from this stuff.".

Claudia grinned back. "That could be because math is about numbers, not words. Have a good day. And if you should need help with numbers again or your computer is giving up like last week, let me know.

The honey blonde laughed. "Alright, Claudia. Blessings to your Dad and Claire."

The tiny brunette smiled and waved her neighbor goodbye.

Irene found the scene quite interesting. This seven year old actually seemed to be quite a grown up for her age. And the whole neighborhood knew that. She was teaching the kids math, she was chatting about the weather and political events, she was even fixing their technological devices.

Everyone could see that the girl was living here like she was already in her twenties. She had to be quite something if she was respected like that.

The dark skinned woman didn't know why, but she felt proud of the girl and she had a feeling that she wouldn't just see her on this one case.

Meanwhile Claudia went back inside and it was like someone turned a switch. Suddenly the all grown up seven year old was a nervous young girl. She was pacing over the floor like it was made out of ice. As fast as possible, but as silent and gracious like a cat.

She'd been in the theater club at school for two years now. The teacher had told her she was a natural. Last year they had convinced her to play Juliet. She didn't have anything against Shakespeare, she just didn't think of herself as a character like Juliet. And the dress they made her wear for this...

But now wasn't the time to complain about this. In fact, the brunette was grateful for the training it gave her. Cat had told her to be careful when she left the house. The neighbors shouldn't know what was behind these walls right now.

Her Mom had only sent her because she always went to get the mail. Usually, she insisted on it. It made her feel like an adult.

At an age where others watched cartoons and read comics, she was watching political debates and she was either reading science books or Wells.

She loved sciene fiction. And who could write better science fiction than the genre's so-called father? Right now she was in the first book of The War Of Worlds. The girl had to admit that one of her favorite things about the writer was that he was thinking outside of the box. His works could bring her into other dimensions.

Not that she had something against comics. She was actually quite a fan of what her brother had left for her when he went to college.

Her brother's favorites seemed to be The X-Men and The Fantastic Four. They'd seen a couple of movies together too.

The most recent one was the first X-Men movie. Josh had started calling Claudia Little Rogue afterwards, because she wasn't exactly known as a social kid. To be fair, except for her teachers and parents, it was rare that someone ever called her kid.

She was however known as a little runaway. Whenever she didn't like the situation at home, she'd look for another place to stay. Her parents weren't too thrilled by that fact, but the worries had become less and less over the past two years.

Usually she was just next-door with a neighbor. Just one time she'd actually taken a train to her uncle's and aunt's house about two hours from here. They had four kids. The twins David and Jacob were one year younger than Joshua. The youngest, Felicia, was three years younger than Claudia. But her favorite cousin was without question Nell. Janelle Jones was just a year older than Claudia. They were like sisters. Once they were in the same neighborhood, they were inseparable.

Her eyes fell to the plastic claws on the dresser in the small main hall of their house. They were for her brother's Halloween costume, Josh and Clary were both a bit too old for trick and treat tours, but they had decided that the tradition should live on for Claudia.

Josh wanted to be Wolverine. What Claudia wasn't sure was fitting, especially since Clary started calling dibs on Jean Grey. They had a lot of smaller arguments about this until Claire decided that she'd wasted enough of her time. But in the end, for Claudia's sake, Joshua had been the one to give in. Till Claudia had puppy-dog-eyed them into staying with their first choices.

Claire had already bought Claudia a thick white hair streak for her Rogue costume. It was in a set with a dark blue one, a neon green one, a purple one and a dark red one. Claudia had been wearing those at school since she got them. All except the white one. That one was reserved for Halloween.

Claire liked Josh's and Dia's taste, but they were a bit too passionate about this for her liking. She was more into music. Garbage was her favorite band ever. 'When I Grow Up' was the first song that she taught Claudia to play on the guitar.

But lately the only music the redhead was interested in was the melody of her music box.

Claudia shot a glance to the stairs. Her sister hadn't come down since last evening. Not since Claudia had taken the box. It made her nervous. She'd wanted to make things right again. And now Claire was alone, locked up in her room. That definitely wasn't Claudia's definition of right.

Suddenly she heard steps from upstairs and her sister appeared on the stairs. With a large bag slung over her left shoulder.

"Claire? What are you doing?"

She knew this scene. Usually she was in Claire's position. But she had a feeling the teenager wouldn't stop her journey at a neighbors door.

Claire had a haunted look in her eyes.

"Mom and Dad are sending me away! And if I have to go, I want to choose the destination myself!"

She bend down to give her little sister a quick hug and a kiss on her dark brown hair.

"We'll meet again, okay? One day we'll sing together again. I promise, alright Dia? I promise. And a Donovan keeps her promises!"

Now she was looking her younger sister straight into the eyes.

"I love you, little sister. Please never forget that."

Claire gave the girl a last kiss on her head and then she turned to the door. She walked outside and there was nothing Claudia could do. She was frozen. Paralyzed. Terrified.

Claire couldn't leave. She couldn't leave their parents, their house, their neighborhood. She couldn't leave her.

Joshua had just left a few months ago and that already hurt the girl. But her brother was coming to visit as often as he could. Her sister wouldn't.

That's when her parents came from the kitchen. Catherine had a smile on her face. "Claire? I heard you coming down, darling. How..."

Her expression immediately fell when she noticed that Claudia was alone in the room. And she didn't look lucky

"Dia? What happened? Where's Clary?"

No answer. Now John spoke up.

"Claudia? Are you alright?"

The girls widened big brown eyes fell to the door.

And now they knew it. Claire was running away. But she couldn't be far away just yet.

Cat ran outside and saw Claire hurriedly leaving the driveway.

"Claire! Come back! Wait!"

John followed his wife outside and as soon as he spotted his oldest daughter he too started shouting.

"Clary, where do you want to go?"

"Away!"

"Why?"

"Cause you and Mom don't want me here anymore!"

John's eyes went wide in shock. She must've overheard their conversation yesterday. It seemed Cat had the same thought.

"That's not true! We're trying to help you!"

"No you're not! You'll lock me up! You said so yourself!"

Suddenly Claire gasped. She could barely breath and she felt herself rising from the teen turned into a human tornado. This time it was worse than ever before. Her feet were more than ten inches above the ground. Her eyes were glowing in a ghostly white. The air around her turned into a dark cloud.

The smaller trees that stood close to the redhead were slowly ripped apart. The late summer leaves were flying through the air around her like it was the thunderstorm of the decade.

John and Cat could just stand in the middle of their front yard, unable to move.

It wasn't until he saw the mailbox flying into their direction that John snapped out of his state of shock. The car was closer than the house.

He quickly took his car keys from the pocket of his blue jeans, ran to the car and unlocked the passenger side. "Catherine!"

Seeing that his wife still didn't move, he ran back faster than he ever thought he could. He grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her to the car. He sat in the passenger seat and pulled her in.

When Catherine knew what happened she was already sitting on her husband's lap. After a few seconds she stared at him in horror.

"John, what about Claudia? We can't drive away without her!"

He was already halfway to the driver's seat. He looked back at his wife and hesitated. Just a second too long.

He heard Catherine's horrified scream. He felt how the car moved. And the last thing he saw was a tree.

In the next moment everything was black.

Artie and Irene saw all of that from the other side of the street.

The terrified parents. The teenager that had turned into a dangerous weapon without even actually noticing it. The horrific multiple impact.

The car had crashed into the tree four times, ten feet above the ground. Afterwards it just fell down. And so did Claire.

The car had a total damage. The door to the driver's seat had fallen out. All of the windows were shattered into pieces. The roof had come down to the heads of the couple.

Both of them had scratches and bruises all over their faces and were covered in their own blood. His left arm was bend into an odd angle.

All that was just what they could see from they're point of view from across the street. It was impossible to survive a crash like that. Most likely, both of them were dead on impact.

That was the first thing the agents noticed. The second one was the redheaded girl on the ground. Artie jumped out of the car and ran over to her. He held two fingers against her inner wrist, then above her collarbone. "She's alive!"

Irene got out of the car and walked towards them, her phone against her ear. But then she already heard the sirens of an ambulance before she had even dialed the number.

Her eyes wandered to the door, and there she stood. With a phone in her hand and the terror written all over her face. She was shaking and there were tears rolling down her pale cheeks. And her big brown eyes were wide in horror.

The witness of her own parents' death:

Claudia Donovan.


	6. What's To Come

**A/N: KNOCK KNOCK. Here you go dear readers. This chapter is mostly about Claudia's thoughts the day she was orphaned. And in the end, I'll introduce my special guest. She'll play a great role in later chapters. As always, reviews, comments, questions and polite criticism are highly appreciated. **

**KTF㈎2 CLM **

12.09.1999, The Donovan Household

Now here she was. She could feel the strange woman's eyes on her. She could see the man beside her sister. She couldn't see her parents, because the car stood with the back to her.

But she could see her sister. Lying in the grass. Her light red hair was a mess. Her dark red jacket was halfway down her pale arms. She could see a couple of scratches on her shoulders and upper arms. Her dark blue skinny jeans was covered in dirt. Her favorite blue top had a couple of wholes, revealing nearly half of her stomach. There was blood. Not a lot, but it was enough to scare the little girl.

Suddenly Claudia noticed that the dark skinned woman was now standing right beside her. She was holding her hand out to the girl.

Claudia slowly turned her head to look her into the eyes.

The woman's eyes looked friendly. Pitiful. Worried.

The girl's eyes looked scared. Swollen. Lost.

Sighing, the woman pulled her hand back. Claudia's hands hadn't moved the slightest bit. In her right hand, she still held the phone. Her left hand was balled into a weak fist.

The woman reached forward to take the telephone. Claudia didn't have the strength to stop her. The stranger placed the device on the ground beside her. She tried to sent the girl a reassuring smile.

"Hello. You're Claudia, right? I'm Irene."

She held her hand out again, but Claudia didn't move.

She just turned her head back into Claire's direction.

Irene pulled her hand back and straightened her back again. She doubted the girl would be talking to her anytime soon. And suddenly she did.

"They're dead, aren't they?"

They both turned to look at each other again. Seeing the surprised expression on the stranger's face, Claudia decided to try it again. She had to know.

"Mom and Dad I mean. The man said Clary is alive. But our parents aren't?"

The last part was half question, half statement.

She knew it. But she had to hear it.

"I'm sorry, Claudia."

She was right. She heard enough.

That's when the ambulance arrived.

Claudia heard the sirens, saw the lights.

She heard the voices, saw the people.

The realization began to sink in.

Her parents were dead. Both of them.

Her sister was hurt. Badly.

She was an orphan now. And so were Joshua and Claire.

Joshua. Somebody would have to tell him.

He would be broken. She knew him.

He would come back to take care. Take care of his younger sisters.

He would never be able to finish college. He wouldn't care.

For him, all that would matter were her and Claire.

It would ruin his entire life. His future. Or what could have been his future.

And Claire's future? What if she wouldn't make it?

She couldn't lose her too. Her world was shattered into pieces.

And now more then ever, she needed her older siblings to hold these pieces together.

It would all fall apart.

She was a smart kid. She knew that her parents were lost. Forever.

She knew what death meant. Their grandpa had died last year. He had left a broken family behind. The worst of all, his wife. Claudia hadn't seen her grandmother for seven month after the funeral.

Catherine had allowed them to stay at home for a week. From the three of them, it was the worst for Claire. She'd been grandpa's little girl.

And if their grandfather's death already brought her down so much, how low would she sink once she found out that their parents were dead?

And what would she do when she discovered how they died? Would she remember any of this at all?

Would she wake up again? Would she want to?

Claudia had never felt so lost and alone before. She didn't know what to do. Who to trust. Where to go.

Meanwhile the wheels in Irene's head were working long hours in minutes. The girl wasn't just some kid. She needed someone to talk to. Someone who spoke her language. Someone who understood her loss. Someone who could pay for her brother's education. Someone who would look after her without underestimating her.

That's when it hit her. She knew the perfect person for this. She never met her, but she'd read all the files. The woman was a living legend at the Warehouse.

A very long time had passed since said legend had moved even the slightest inch. Everybody knew about her. But nobody knew her.

Given her history and abilities there was no one alive who could possibly be more fitting for Claudia and her siblings.

Irene heard that she was driven insane by her seven-year old daughter's murder. That she killed for her kid. But she couldn't save her. That chance was long over.

But now there was another one. A girl, around her daughter's age. Just as intelligent and beautiful.

But first things first. She walked over to Arthur with a forceful pace.

"Agent Nielsen? Tell them I want Claire to be moved to a hospital in Featherhead as soon as possible. And if I have to carry her there with my own two hands, understood?"

Artie glared at her in irritation for a moment, then he nodded. "Understood."

The agent couldn't quite follow his bosses way of thought. Did she actually plan on bringing the children to South Dakota with them?

To leave him, Arthur Nielsen, originally Weisfelt, alone with a bunch of minor orphans? They had just lost their parents. How was he even supposed to know how to talk to these kind of people?

12.09.1999, An hour later at a Regent Meeting

"Are you sure about this, Irene?", Adwin Kosan had heard a lot of ideas from this woman over the years. Some of them could have been his own, and some of them broke a thousand rules at once.

But she had never been wrong. Every time they didn't at least try to do what she proposed, they'd regret it later. But this time she went over her own edges. He would never say it that way out loud, but he believed she was losing her mind right now.

"I think the idea isn't too bad either, Adwin. It would give the kids a new home. And it would give her a new chance."

Jane Lattimer had always been the one of them who tried to help the agents' families. She had to deal with similar issues at home herself. She had to raise her son all by herself for years. Not to mention that she had to lie to him every day. She hated this. But from what Irene had told them, the siblings would end up at this place anyway. So why not give them a new family here instead of sending them to someone who had no idea what the children's destiny was?

"I agree. Everybody deserves a second chance. We should at least try it."

That voice came from Theodora Stanton. The woman was living close to the Warehouse. That's why Irene proposed that she should take a look at how things are going to report to them from time to time.

In today's circle of Regents were fife women, excluding Irene, and fife men attending. To keep it balanced.

Adwin didn't need long to see that all of the female voices were on Irene's side. Now it was up to the men.

"Alright, after the voice of... female intuition made itself clear, I believe we need to take a rational look at this.", Adwin said, catching all six women in the room off guard.

"What do you mean? We can't think rational?", Theodora throw in. The others were fast to agree. Again.

"Kosan, I think they do have a point. Why should we miss the opportunity to get our next generation raised first hand?", Philip was the first one of his side of the table to say anything at all today.

And he earned positive reactions from all attending persons. Except for Kosan. But even the boss of the Regents knew when he had lost a battle. So he decided to give in this time.

"Alright. I think it's time to release a bronze victim out of her prison. It's time to release Helena Georgina Wells."


	7. An Adult Child

A/N: KNOCK KNOCK. Here we go again. So, this is basically what happened at the Donovan household with Claudia and Artie while Irene had her fun with the Regents. As always, I hope you'll like it.

KTF CLM

12.09.1999, The Donovan Household. Parallel to the Regent Meeting

After Mrs. Frederic had left and the ambulance had taken Claire with them, Artie was alone with Claudia.

He slowly knelt down in front of the kid. The man hesitated. He had no idea how far she understood everything that was happening around her. But the most important thing for was to get the artifact now.

"Hello. I'm Artie. I'm here to... "

"You're here to get the box."

Her statement surprised the agent. How could she know that? Did it have something to do with his boss's interest in her? He knew that the chances to get a helpful answer from a seven year old freshly orphaned girl were pretty much low to nothing. But he at least had to ask.

"How do you know that I want a box?"

The tiny brunette shook her head.

"You don't just want a box. You want Claire's music box. The one that caused all of this. That's why you're here. I just know it."

The agent could barely believe how easily she could say all of this. It was like she did this every day. She seemed to think of artifacts like air, water and food.

"Let's say I've got what you want. Could you help Clary if you had it?"

Her question sounded almost as if she was trying to deal with him. A pact: The artifact for her sister's life.

She crossed her small arms in front of her chest, impatiently waiting for his answer.

"That's how it usually works. We neutralize the artifact and the effects disappear. I can't change what already happened. But I could help your sister."

The girl gave a quick nod, then she ran upstairs. He hesitantly followed her. By the time he reached her room, she was already pulling the crates out from under her bed. He thought about helping her, but he figured she wouldn't want him to touch her things.

The man had a lot of questions for and about the girl. He had no idea how far she actually knew the answers. Or how far Mrs. Frederic or the Regents knew them. But he knew that he had to start somewhere.

"Why did you even hide the box?"

"Because it is bad. Clary didn't notice what it did to her."

"But you did?"

"I can feel it. I felt that it wasn't good for us from the very first day she picked it up."

He thought about her words for a moment. How much could and should he tell her? And how would he say it the most comfortable way for the kid?

He nervously cleared his throat. "You know. That's very rare. I only know one other person who can do that."

She nodded, still moving the crates. "I know that too. The woman you came here with, Irene. She didn't tell me. But her presence felt slightly similar to the presence of that stupid box."

She stopped to look at him. "You're not talking to children very often, do you?"

That child kept surprising him with her questions. He cautiously shook his head. "N...no. Not really. Can you feel that too?"

She shrugged. "Everybody with a low level knowledge in psychology or even everyone who's ever been in therapy could see that. But it's okay. I'm not talking much to children either. I'm rather talking with people who understand what I'm saying. You don't have to try to talk childproof or something. I'm not just some kid."

He had to smile a bit. He didn't know many people of her age. But he was pretty sure that she was a special kid.

"No, you're definitely not."

He wasn't usually a child person, but this one had something. She almost made him forget that she even was a kid. She seemed to be more like a little adult.

While he was deep in his thoughts, the tiny brunette had made her way to the wanted object. She pulled it into the light of the day and looked at it with an expression that could described as a it's-all-your-fault face.

Claudia slowly placed it on her bed and took two steps back.

"Take it."

Artie snapped out of his thoughts and looked at her, then the box.

"Take it and do whatever is necessary to save my sister."

She had said it in a matter of fact, strict and straight forward. But even though he wasn't good with social stuff he could see the fear in her eyes.

She pretended that she was fine. That she already moved on, started a new chapter of her young life. But deep down Artie knew that she didn't. How could she?

He opened his mouth to say something, but closed it again shortly afterwards, deciding there was nothing to say right now. He stepped forward while he pulled out his purple gloves.

The girl watched the scene with curiosity. The gloves. The shiny bag he took out next. How he pulled the gloves over his hands.

The man looked up and found her staring at his hands. There was no question that she was observing what he was doing. It looked like she mentally wrote down everything that he did. She was trying to learn the neutralizing process of an artifact.

He hesitated. Should she know all of this? Should a seven year old girl study the job of a Warehouse agent? Would she be a Warehouse agent one day? Or maybe even more?

Was this the first time she saw this? Would it be the last?

Suddenly he noticed that her eyes found his, silently asking him to continue. To continue teaching her something she shouldn't even see. Shouldn't even believe.

The agent quickly took the box and dropped it into the neutralizer bag. There were a lot of bright sparks. Claudia thought it looked like a little firework.

Watching the stranger's work in awe, the child found herself calm.

He was helping people. He was doing a dangerous and complicated job. A job that fascinated her like nothing else ever did.

She wanted to help people too. She wanted to save victims of things like the one her sister brought home. She didn't want this to happen to people. And she felt that she could do something against it.

She wanted to be a Warehouse agent.


	8. Waking Up

A/N: KNOCK KNOCK. Here I am again. This chapter has been waiting to be finished and published for a while now. We're slowly reaching the original idea I started this story with. We all know that I don't own Warehouse 13 or the little crossover to NCIS: LA (which really only consists of a younger version of Nell Jones as Claudia's cousin Janelle.).

I'd also like to thank the ones who followed, favorited and reviewed. Feedback keeps me inspired. I know that this story is going further away from the show's storyline with every chapter and I'm really glad that you seem to like where I'm going with this. But don't worry. Pete, Myka, Steve and the good old Warehouse as well as a few known recurring and guest characters will get their fair share later.

KTF CLM

15.09.1999, Featherhead, at the hospital

Claire Donovan slowly opened her eyes. She only saw white. Her eyes fell shut again. She tried to move. Her legs. Her arms. Her head. She failed. She couldn't feel anything.

Claire tried to think. Tried to remember. How did she get here? Where was she even? What happened? Where was her family? Claudia? Joshua? Her parents?

Something about the thought of her family hurt. Memories. But what, she had no idea.

Suddenly there were voices.

"She's awake! She woke up!"

Joshua?

"Call the doctor!"

Joshua!

She tried to open her eyes again. She felt dizzy. It was like there was fog all around her. Then she started noticing the noises. Beeping machines. Steps on the linoleum floor.

She started seeing the people. The room. It was white. The walls. The floor. The people all wore similar outfits. Uniforms? But what kind of uniforms? Who were these people? What were they doing with her? Was she moving? But she couldn't move. Was her bed moving? Was this her bed? Was it a bed at all?

The redhead had so many questions, but she couldn't find the answers in her mind. She wasn't able to think clearly. But why?

Then her brother came into sight. It calmed her, but not much. She tried to figure out what he was saying.

"It will be alright, Clary. I promise."

Alright? What will be alright? What's wrong? Why does he look so sad? Was that her fault?

"Jo... Josh... "

What? Was that her? That sounded weak. Was she really so vulnerable? What happened to her?

"No, don't speak Claire. It'll be fine. You'll be fine. We'll be fine."

Don't speak? Why shouldn't she? Why couldn't she?

Fine? What will be fine? Wasn't she fine? Who wasn't fine? Was it Claudia?

"Clau... "

"She's fine, Claire."

Really? Then why was he so sad?

Suddenly she began to feel. And she didn't feel good. She didn't feel good at all. Her muscles were burning. She still couldn't move. Her bones felt heavy. She closed her eyes. Everything was dark again.

15.9.1999, The Jones Household

Claudia was sitting at the window in Nell's room. They brought her here. They said she needed peace. She said she needed to stay with her sister. They disagreed. They won.

Nell cautiously walked into her room. The eight year old looked her cousin up and down. She looked so broken. Usually Claudia was the strongest and most grown up seven year old one could imagine. But not now. Now she seemed lonely. Desperate. Cold.

The girl that once was her best friend and almost sister had chosen to ignore her. To ignore everybody. Everything.

She just sat there. Thinking. About what had changed. About what happened. About what she'd lost. About what she could still lose.

Nell was nearly convinced that she totally forgot what she had left. Or maybe she didn't want to remember that. Maybe she was afraid of losing that too. For her it wasn't what she had left to live anymore. It was what she had left to lose.

Just like her cousin, Nell wasn't a normal child. She saw things in another light. Where others saw a lost case, Nell Jones saw her strong, confident, smart friend. Where others saw a broken girl, Nell saw a bend fighter.

She just needed someone to help her back onto the horse. And of course Nell wanted to be that someone. Who would be better here than her?

She was close to Claudia. Closer than most people would ever be allowed to. She understood the way the other kid thought. And she cared about Claudia. They'd been like twins since they could think. And in their family, that was pretty early.

She sat down on her bed next to Claudia. She slowly placed her small hand on her cousin's shoulder and looked at her. Claudia looked the other girl straight into the eyes. She swallowed. The brunette had tears in her swollen eyes. She'd been crying a lot. When she was alone. But not now. She wasn't alone. Nell couldn't see her cry. Not again.

But the tears came. She felt Nell pulling her into a hug and returned it gratefully.

"I think you're pretty strong, you know?"

Nell's comment shocked her at first, but then she remembered who was talking to her. Her cousin Nelly. Her best friend. One of the few persons on earth she'd ever trust. Of course Nell wouldn't judge her. She wasn't such a boring normal child either after all.

She was a Donovan! Well, she was a Jones. But close enough.

They heard steps. Someone was running up the stairs. And that someone seemed to be in a hurry.

The door flew open and revealed Nell's younger sister Felicia. "Mom said cousin Clary is awake!"

The girls stared at her in shock. Then Mrs. Jones appeared in the doorway. "It's true. Joshua just called. He said she tried to talk to him. And that she'll be fine."

And for the first time since that horrible accident, Claudia felt that she was allowed to have hope again.

15.09.1999, Warehouse 13, The Bronze Sector

Helena Wells didn't know how long she'd been here already. It seemed you easily lose track of time when you're frozen in bronze. It could be minutes, hours, days, months, years.

Decades. Centuries.

All she knew was that it felt long. And it felt cold. She'd started to question her decision. Of course, she'd hurt people. She killed someone. But it was all for Christina. And she'd do it again. For her.

But now she knew that she couldn't get her back. She was gone. Forever.

Knowing that, she regretted what she did. Not that she tried to save her daughter. But that others had to die in the process.

If she'd just get one more chance. To be a better agent. A better person. And maybe, one day, to be a better mother. But she ran out of chances. That's why she was here. All her opportunities were lost. And she didn't deserve new ones. Why would she?

She was a merciless killer. Was she?

Suddenly, she began to feel her numb muscles. The world around her became warmer. Brighter.

But why? What was happening with her? They couldn't possibly... could they?

Her head felt lighter. Her legs had to carry weight again. A piece of her hair fell against her nose.

The case was clear: Someone decided to unbronze her.

But why? And where? And when?

The writer felt that someone wrapped a blanket around her. He was talking. But she couldn't make out what he was saying.

They pushed and pulled her. By now she was pretty sure there were multiple persons. A woman. And three men. Of course, more male than female people. What else?

And she'd really hoped that if she'd wake up, it would be in a better world. In a better time, at least.

She felt that she was pushed into a chair. Her eyes flickered. It was a very bright room. And she already knew for sure, that she didn't wake up in the same decade as she was frozen.

Now she could just see two persons. A man and a woman. Both of them had dark skin. Their clothes seemed formal.

The woman was wearing a deep blue costume. It ended a few inches underneath her knees. The dresses Helena remembered were all reaching the floor. The man was wearing a black business suit.

It seemed some things changed after all.

But she highly doubted that these people trusted her any more than the ones she knew. Turning around, she spotted the other two men. Dark business suits. Tall, athletic. Probably the guards.

As she expected. But that didn't explain what she was doing here.

"I can imagine you have a lot of questions, Miss Wells. But please let me introduce myself first. My name is Irene Frederic. I am the current Caretaker of Warehouse 13 and I am also the one who brought up the idea to unbronze you."

"Warehouse 13? What is today's date? And why am I here?"

The woman just smirked. "Today is the 15th September of the year 1999. And you are here because I have an offer to make you. A new chance."


	9. A New Chance

**A/N: KNOCK KNOCK. And here I am again, brushing the dust off my account. I'm really sorry, but you likely know that by now. I started a few new chapters here and there, but this story is still the easiest to write. I'm also sorry if there are a few mistakes in this. I'm having trouble with my concentration at the moment. **

**Other than that, the plot in this was mostly improvised. So, as always, I hope you like what I wrote here. I'll give my best to update more often in the future. **

**KTF CLM**

South Dakota, Warehouse 13, 15.09.1999

Helena rolled her lips in. Her eyes kept wandering between the floor, the obviously egoistic man and the secretive woman in front of her and the two about 6"7 feet tall fools behind her. The man in front of her was introduced to her as Adwin Kosan, the current head of the infamous Regents. And he seemed to be extremely proud about that fact. The British beauty mentally laughed at his attitude. No question, he was new to this job. It was extremely unlikely that this man had any family, or least he wasn't in contact with them. The athletic built men behind her were way more professional. They knew what they were doing. Probably they were both ex-military. The most interesting person here, perhaps aside from Helena herself, was the mysterious yet friendly woman who kept glancing back towards her. The inventor wasn't sure what to think about her yet. After all it seemed that this all was her idea. That could mean she wants to help. Or that she had plans for Helena. That, too, could be good or bad. In general, HG hated it when others wanted to control what she does or doesn't do. But sadly she didn't have much of a choice at the moment. They led her through a few aisles until they stopped abruptly in front of a door. The freshly unbronzed writer raised an eyebrow, studying the strange device on the wall right next to the door. Just buttons and numbers. This was definitely something new. But as far as she could tell, it was only a lock. Or at least it was connected to the door's lock. She spotted a small pyramid symbol in the lower left corner of the device. It looked familiar, but she didn't have any more time to study it because one of the men slowly pushed her into the room behind the door. It was quite bright and the only furniture were a big table and three chairs, two of them standing on opposite sides of the table and one in the corner. Helena shot an angry glance towards the professional colossus who currently had her right wrist in a tight grip. It seemed that the Brit's less than thrilled mood didn't go unnoticed by the other woman in the room though. "Jackson, where do you think she'd go if you wouldn't try to break her wrist?" Those were the first words anyone said since they left the Bronze Sector. Mrs. Frederic was the only current employee of this Warehouse who Helena heard talking at all. And hell, this woman was starting to earn her sympathy. The man, who HG now knew went by the name Jackson, immediately released her wrist and cleared his throat, obviously embarrassed by his boss's comment. Helena chuckled silently and sat down on one of the chairs by the table. A small smirk remained on her lips as she noticed how Kosan was only two seconds too late to sit on the chair on the other side, where Mrs. Frederic had found her place. He pulled the chair from the corner to the table, visibly annoyed by the woman's lack of respect for the 'food chain' around here. A short look over her shoulder told Helena that the two bodyguards had positioned themselves in the corners behind her. The inventor sighed and looked at the other woman, her arms folded on the table. "Alright. Why am I here? Or rather, why am I not a statue anymore?" It would take some getting used to until the slightly rusty voice with a thick British accent would sound like her own again. Just like it would likely take a while until her bones stopped aching and she'd be able to fight properly again. She had to admit that she quite missed it. She wasn't generally a fan of brutality. She avoided guns with bullets as good as she could. But occasionally people deserved to take a hit or two. However, she couldn't help the feeling that she went too far in the past. Of course, it was all for Christina. She swallowed at the memory of her dead daughter's smile. Christina was such a beautiful, smart young girl. And she was only seven years old. A pained expression crossed Helena's face. It hurt her every time when she thought about how her beloved child never got the chance to become the stunning young woman she would have been without a question. This girl could have moved mountains. And there it was again. The sadness stepped aside and gave space to anger. She was so furious. So bitter. If only she could change what happened. But she tried. And she failed. It took her a moment to realize that the room had been silent for a few minutes and they all just studied her. She cleared her throat, remembering the question she asked before. "So?"

Mrs. Frederic smiled sympathetically. Helena didn't know it, but she knew how it felt to lose a child. Even though her son got the chance to grow old. But it still hurt her to think about it. He was still her son. The Caretaker looked at the woman in front of her, studying her features. She saw pain, regret, anger, sadness. But she also saw a small bit of hope, and that told her that she was right to bring her here. She regretted her actions and she hoped for a second chance. And that's what Irene wanted to give her.

"Helena, what would you say if I told you that the Warehouse is willing to give you another chance?"

HG raised her eyebrows, more than a little suspicious. "Another chance? What kind of chance? As an agent?"

"Maybe. But in first place, this would be your second chance as a mother."

Helena's eyes widened. As a mother? How did she mean that? They had made it more than clear to her that Christina was lost. Forever.

"I don't understand. As the mother of who?"

Irene smirked knowingly. "We're currently trying to find someone who would be able to handle three very special children. Granted, Joshua is already 18. But he would surely do his best to help you. He's a smart young man. However, his younger sisters will need someone to take care of them. Especially Claudia. Claire is 15 years old. An energetic girl. She recently had a little... trouble, if you know what I mean."

The gears in Helena's head were turning faster and faster with every sentence. She mentally listed the facts. Three children. The oldest was a boy, probably preparing to go to university soon. Or maybe he already started studying. The other two were girls. The older one, Claire, obviously already had her first meeting with a dangerous curiosity behind her. But even though she didn't hear anything about Claudia yet, she had a feeling the group's youngest was the main reason why she was here.

Irene waited a moment to give her some time to process the new information. It was a lot to take in, even for a brilliant woman like the infamous HG Wells. "Miss Wells?"

"What about the youngest? I assume you chose me because of her?"

"Straight to the point. Good." The physically older woman shifted a little in her seat. Even though she knew exactly who she was talking to, what was about to follow made her slightly nervous. And she was rarely ever nervous. "Helena, Claudia is a… very special young girl. It seems she is… connected to the Warehouse. She immediately recognized the artifact that affected her sister, even before it was activated. She is only seven years old, so I can't say anything for sure yet. But I think she might be the next one."

Helena raised an eyebrow, immediately realizing what the woman was trying to tell her. "You think this girl is the next Caretaker? But… how? I mean, as far as I'm informed the Caretakers of the former Warehouses never even knew about this place before or people went out there to look for them."

Irene nodded. "Exactly. And that is what worries me the most. She was involved with this world way too early. But the Warehouse seems to hold onto her as tightly as it possibly could. I can't explain it, but it feels like it's talking to both of us. It's telling me not to let her go. And Claudia… I don't know what it tells her. But she has already made her decision. I could see it in her eyes. She's never been here before, but she already wants to stay."

The Brit nodded again, leaning back in her seat, her arms still crossed in front of her chest and her eyes still cold. But a little spark of interest already appeared in them. "So you're afraid of what will happen if you give the Warehouse's future into stranger's hands. And your solution is to give her to me instead. A woman who was bronzed because she wasn't psychologically stable enough to walk around freely."

"Helena, Claudia is more than just the next Caretaker. This girl is way smarter than most people could understand. She's young, but she is very mature for her age. Other children play with dolls, she plays chess and repairs computers. She could likely tell you more about what changed in this world than any of us. She might be your perfect second chance."

The inventor kept her look cold, overthinking the Caretaker's words. This child did indeed sound interesting. And she understood why they wouldn't want to let her stay with just anyone. Her thoughts wandered to her own daughter. Christina was such a smart and beautiful young girl. But she lost her. Helena lost her seven year old daughter and this seven year old girl lost her parents. So far it was a simple calculation. But what if this was a bad idea after all? What if they didn't get along? Or worse. What if they would become a family and one of them had to live through it again? Losing a family member was a horrible experience. And now Helena didn't have any family left. She had nothing left to lose. Changing that was a high risk. Was it really worth it? This wasn't only about her either. What about the kids? What if they didn't want to grow up with her? Claudia was young, but what about her siblings? Joshua was surely a protective older brother. Especially after everything that happened. And Irene had told her that Claire was energetic. From the sound of her voice it seemed the older girl was quite a young rebel. Granted, that gained her sympathy from Helena. As a person. But as a mother? And then, what about Helena's past? How far could she tell them who she really was? Or should she just try to stay under the radar? It would probably be better. Despite all those thoughts running around in the Brit's mind, she couldn't help saying the next words.

"I want to meet them. Then I'll make my decision."

Irene smiled. That already sounded promising to her. "I expected you'd say something like that. You'll meet them tomorrow in Minnesota. Claudia currently lives with her uncle, aunt and cousins. Joshua still accompanies Claire at the hospital."

HG raised her eyebrow. "I assume her encounter with the curiosity ended badly?"

"Not as badly as it could have. But her current condition is stable. Thanks to her younger sister. Claudia took the artifact from her and hid it until help arrived. I will tell you the entire story another time. It doesn't matter at the moment. We're only waiting for Claire to get released and then this chapter will finally be over." Irene cleared her throat. She had a feeling she wouldn't like the next part. "Miss Wells, there's one more thing. We could have a little trouble to bring you legally back into the society here in America."

It took the British writer a second to realize what Mrs. Frederic had just said. Her eyes widened in rage. "Wait. You want me to play American? I'm a proud British woman! And you want me to forget everything I am and everything I did in my life back in England?"

"I want you to be save, Miss Wells. A new identity is the best way to keep your former life hidden. It's for your own good. And in case you accept our offer, it's also for the children. You may return to living like before once we have ensured that it is save. We didn't have the time to do that yet. After all we didn't expect to see you in our rows again."

She took a deep breath in. It hurt her to admit it to herself, but she was right. Even just her name could awaken suspicious ears. And of course there had to be a price for this second chance at a life. She had to live an entire new life in America.

"You likely already have a plan in place, am I right?"

"We do." Kosan spoke up this time, placing a pile of papers on the table. "We will keep an eye on you by leaving you as surrogate daughter of one of our best Regents. Her name is Jane Lattimer, however yours will be Lake. Emily Hannah Lake. Jane took you in after your parents died shortly after your tenth birthday. She was your literature teacher in primary school in Ohio. The rest is in the papers. It's mostly just the true story of the Lattimers for you to learn. Jane has two biological children, Jean and Peter. Jean is around your... biological age. She's deaf, but as far as I'm informed you know the English sign language. Peter is around Claire's age. I think he's one or two years older than her. He's in high school. The family moved to Univille last week, so he and Claire will be in the same class at school. Hopefully that will help both of them to settle in here."

Helena nodded, rolling her eyes at a few words. "Alright. I doubt I have a choice in this anyways. What about the father of those two?"

Before Kosan could say anything, Mrs. Frederic took over again. "Mister Peter Lattimer Sr. was a fireman. He died in a fire over a decade ago. That was a few years after they took you in. He was a good man."

Helena rolled her lips in, her head turning from the mashup of reality and the story written for her. Added to that, this showed her yet again that everybody involved with this organization had experienced a terrible loss. How did they always do that? She sighed. "And what do we tell my new surrogate siblings?"

Irene folded her fingers. "Jean is Jane's One, so she is already informed. By the way, a very stubborn agent of ours got the Regents to allow the agents to have a One, too." At that sentence both women had to smile a bit. Those people could be so arrogate sometimes. They deserved to be downgraded occasionally. Respect is one thing, doing every little thing they say is another. Helena made a mental note to ask about that agent's name at some point. Irene cleared her throat. "About Peter, that is up to Jane. We will see what she will tell him or not. With a few exceptions of course."

HG nodded again. Of course. The infamous exceptions. You can tell your loved ones whatever you want, but not where and with what you really earn your money. "So when will I get to meet the woman who raised my new self?"


End file.
